"During the financial year ending 2017 (April 2016 to March 2017), the whole economy average bonus per employee has increased to just over £1,600, which is 5.3% higher than the previous financial year," the ONS said.

T5. Chemicals and man made fibres — £2,800: No other sector saw their bonuses shrink more than chemical workers, who lost out on an average of £600 compared to the last year.

4. Real estate activities — £2,900: Although bonuses for estate agents fell a little in 2017, the drop only represented a fall of £100 on average.

Reuters/Peter Nicholls

3. Information and communication — £4,300: Information based jobs are in high demand currently, and that allows major bonuses to be paid out. Only two other professions saw larger bonuses.

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

2. Mining and quarrying — £6,500: Excluding the financial services sector, miners are the recipients of the biggest bonuses in the UK in 2017, although on average, the size of that bonus dropped £500.

PA

1. Financial and insurance activities — £14,800: Bonus culture in financial services means that workers can earn vast sums of money on top of their basic salaries, with bonuses for senior bankers often reaching seven figures, a fact that somewhat skews the averages.